by Tamie Dearen
Gary thought she might’ve jumped at the chance, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell Steven. After all, he may’ve taken her earlier comment about Steven the wrong way. Gary chopped up all the veggies for the salad and set the table, his stomach growling at the delicious smells wafting from Steven’s sauté pan.
A rap at the door announced Katie’s arrival. When she floated inside, draped in a strappy floral dress that showed off her toned arms and legs, he decided there was no hurry in talking to Steven about the possibility that Katie had feelings for him.
Steven came out of the kitchen, still sporting his apron, emblazoned with Indigo Bay Resort. “Katie, you look lovely.”
Much to Gary’s displeasure, her cheeks took on a rosy hue. “Thanks,” she said, in a shy voice.
“I have to say, your business attire hid some nice muscles,” Steven said, flexing his own bicep in demonstration. “Do you exercise at your apartment? Because I’ve never seen you at the company gym.”
“Fortunately, there’s a swimming pool at the gym in the apartment building.” She bit her lip, and Gary wondered if it was her way of flirting. She continued, “I guess you would know, since you own the building.”
Steven nodded. “I’m glad you like it. It’s not Olympic length, of course, but it’s better than nothing. I have one in my complex, too.”
“I’m not much on machines and weights.” At long last, her eyes cut to Gary, bestowing a few seconds of her attention. “Sorry about that, Gary. You’re a personal trainer, so I guess you like those things.”
“Actually, I prefer natural exercise and sports over machines and weights, any day. It’s just not always possible.”
“You seem to prefer dangerous sports.” Her hazel eyes sparked a challenge.
“Not any more than Steven does.”
“I think you may be a bad influence on my boss.” Her gaze softened as she watched Steven set their plates on the table, the tempting food already served on each one. “He wouldn’t be doing all these risky things if it weren’t for you.”
It irked Gary to realize she was more concerned for Steven than she was for him, even if her fears were inflated.
“That’s bull! Steven was into all these sports long before we met. In fact, he’s the one who talked me into doing a bungee jump for the first time.”
She pressed her lips together, in an I-don’t-believe-you expression.
“Go ahead,” Gary said. “Ask me if it’s the truth.”
“Okay.” She took her place at the table and crossed her arms. “Is that the truth?”
“Yes, it is. And if you don’t believe me, you can ask Steven.”
She unfolded her napkin in her lap, a sweet smile spreading on her face. “That’s not necessary. I’m trusting you to keep your word.”
“What’s this?” asked Steven, as he passed the salad bowl to Katie. “You have some kind of truth pact?”
“Only for Gary,” she said, with an accusatory glare. “I don’t need one, because I don’t lie.”
“For Pete’s sake, Katie. I never lied to you. I was only teasing.”
When she passed him the salad, he snatched it from her hands with so much force a pile of lettuce spilled out on his lap.
She sucked in a loud breath, covering her mouth with her hand. “Such violence! First you dump water on me. Now you jerk the salad bowl away…” A smile prowled at the corners of her lips.
“Touché,” he said, with a sheepish grin. “I see you’re a quick learner. You’ve already perfected the art of teasing with a straight face.”
She forked a bite of salad into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. “I’d say I learned from the master.”
He watched as she cut a scallop into four perfectly-equal pieces before taking a bite. The resulting ecstasy on her face was so intense Gary couldn’t help but imagine producing the same expression with a kiss. His mouth went dry, and he grabbed for an emergency swallow of water. Thankfully, Steven appeared to have missed her reaction, or Gary was certain his friend would’ve fallen in love with her on the spot.
“This is amazing!” she exclaimed.
“It is!” Gary hurried to claim Steven’s attention, though he hadn’t tasted anything but his salad. “These scallops are crazy awesome. I need this recipe.”
Steven blinked in confusion. “Since when have you been interested in cooking?”
Since your cooking put that look on Katie’s face.
“I’ve always been interested. I just haven’t had time to do it.” It was technically true. He was interested in someone else cooking because he loved to eat.
“You cook, too?” The knots in Katie’s brows said she didn’t buy it.
“I have a few special dishes.” If boxed mac and cheese counted.
Please don’t ask me if it’s the truth.
Steven squinted his eyes, as an evil smile slid onto his lips. “Why don’t you cook for us tomorrow night, Gary? You can show us one of your specialties.”
“I… uh…” His heart thumped against his chest wall like an insane man trying to escape from a padded room. Just in time, he remembered making dinner arrangements. “We can’t, because Zoe made us a reservation at Sweet Caroline’s tomorrow night.”
“Another night, then.” Katie took another bite of scallop, her eyes fluttering closed as she chewed and swallowed. “I’m looking forward to seeing how your dinner compares to this one.”
Gary scrambled for another out. “I’ll make you a deal. Tuesday is zip-lining. If you come with us, I’ll cook dinner.”
“Zip-lining?” He could see the pulse of the artery on her neck. “You don’t want me to go with you. I’d probably chicken out.”
“You should come,” Steven said. “Lots of people are nervous the first time they do it.”
“I thought you brought me here to work.”
She and Steven locked gazes, and something seemed to pass between them.
“Now that I’m here, I’m not so keen on working.” Steven carefully sliced his scallop into even-sized pieces, just as Katie had done, and a sinking feeling settled in Gary’s stomach.
Why had Steven brought his PA if he didn’t plan to do any work? Gary could only think of one reasonable explanation. Steven had stronger feelings for Katie than he cared to admit. In retrospect, he realized Steven had only agreed to make the trip after Gary suggested Katie come along.
If his best friend liked Katie, Gary ought to do the gentlemanly thing and step aside. But at the moment, Gary wasn’t feeling very gentlemanly.
After the meal, during which Katie continued to gush over Steven’s cooking, she offered to wash dishes, and Gary assumed Steven would offer to help. Instead, he announced his departure to bed so he could get in a ten-mile run in the morning before the kayak trip. If Steven didn’t have the good sense to take advantage of every possible moment with Katie, Gary didn’t feel obligated to advise him otherwise.
All’s fair in love and war, right?
Gary carried a stack of plates and silverware into the kitchen and began to load them into the dishwasher, but Katie shooed him out of the way and removed the plates.
“You have to rinse them in soapy water first.”
Soon the dishes were washed so thoroughly, Gary wondered aloud why they needed to go in the dishwasher at all.
“Because the dishwasher gets them really hot, to kill more germs.”
“I read an article that said it’s actually better to put your dishes in the dishwasher without rinsing them.” He dutifully added the sparkling clean plates into the dishwasher, along with the water glasses.
“I don’t care what they say.” A small shudder shook her head. “I’ve seen dishes come out of the dishwasher with baked on food, so I don’t trust them to clean really dirty dishes.”
She found a scrubber sponge under the cabinet and applied it to the sauce pan, rinsing it in a stream of steaming hot water. “You can dry this off. It’s bad for pots and pans to go in the dishwasher.”
&nb
sp; As he took the pan from her, their hands brushed together, sending nothing short of a zing through his skin. Static electricity?
“You and Steven are so different,” she said, “How did you become friends?”
Something inside him wanted her to know the truth.
“I’ll tell you.” He glanced over his shoulder to assure himself Steven hadn’t returned. “But only if you promise never to share this with anyone. Steven doesn’t want people to know.”
Her eyes went wide. “Did you meet in prison?”
“What?”
“I won’t tell anyone, no matter what. I just figured it must be something terribly embarrassing like prison. But I promise, I would never judge you on your past—”
He put a silencing finger on her lips, a chuckle escaping his own. “I can’t tell you how tempting it is to let you believe Steven and I met in prison, but that’s not what happened.”
“Oh! Thank goodness!” She blew air from her loose lips and began to wipe down the kitchen counters.
Gary took a deep breath. The last time he’d confessed the truth was two years ago. He’d thought Deanne was different from the other women he’d dated. She seemed to have the same get-everything-out-of-life-as-soon-as-possible attitude that he did. Her shock, and ultimately her rejection, had broken his heart.
“Steven gave me his bone marrow,” he said. “That’s the only reason I’m alive right now.”
Katie froze, her mouth dropping open, just as he expected. “Cancer?”
He nodded. “Leukemia. Steven was sponsoring a donor program, so he signed up to be screened. We were a random match.”
The sponge was abandoned on the counter as Katie stumbled out of the kitchen and sunk into a chair at the table. Gary followed behind her, concerned at her strong reaction.
“Katie? Are you okay?”
She covered her face with her hands, obviously distraught.
I shouldn’t have told her.
“That was five years ago, and I’m doing great.” He sat down beside her, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Steven gave me more than his bone marrow.” Gary struggled to swallow around something that felt stuck in his throat. “He taught me to look past the present and see the future. We started making plans for all the things we were going to do together when I got my strength back… my bucket list.”
She dropped her hands, revealing her watery eyes. “Are you… Do you know how long you have to live?”
He laid his hand on top of hers, where it trembled on the table. “I’m not expecting to die any time soon. Statistically, I’ve got a good chance of living another fifteen years. It’s possible I might live a long time. But none of us are promised tomorrow, right?”
“This is the real reason you have that bucket list?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Yes. I’m sorry to throw that at you,” he said, entwining their fingers. “Honestly, I don’t know why I told you.”
“No, I’m glad you did.” She tilted her head down to stare at their joined hands. “My sister had leukemia.”
His heart squeezed into a tight ball. No wonder his story had upset her. “Cripes! I didn’t realize she died of cancer. I’m so sorry I brought it up.”
“Kindra didn’t die of cancer. She had a bone marrow transplant eighteen months before.” Katie lifted her gaze, her eyes focusing out the window into the darkness. “Mine.”
Gary wrapped his other hand around hers, wishing he could take away her pain. “That was brave of you to donate your bone marrow.”
“I wasn’t brave at all. I was six years old, and I was scared to death.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Even after the procedure, I was selfish. I complained about the pain, but Kindra was hurting a lot worse than I was.”
“Katie, you were only six. You were a child!”
“She was eight when she got the bone marrow transplant, but I never saw her cry. Eighteen months later, she fell through the ice. She went through all that treatment and died in a stupid accident.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and Gary was at a loss for how to comfort her. “That was a terrible tragedy, but at least you bought her that extra time. You did all you could, even as a child. It’s not your fault she died.”
“It is my fault,” she rasped. “We were skating together when the ice broke. I ran to get my parents, but it was too late. I should’ve stayed and helped her.”
“No, Katie, no.” He reached to brush a tear from her cheek. “You were—what—seven when that happened? You couldn’t have helped your sister. You would’ve fallen though the ice with her.”
But her head was already shaking, and she pulled her hand away, crossing her arms over her chest. “Since then, my father made sure I learned what to do for every possible emergency situation. When she fell in the pond, I should’ve dragged a dead tree limb out to her. She could’ve held on while I ran for help or maybe even pulled herself out.”
“Katie, it was an accident.”
“An accident that could’ve been avoided. Dad had warned us it was too early to skate on the pond.”
His hands balled into fists. “Did your parents say it was your fault?”
“Not in so many words.” Her shoulders lifted and dropped. “But after we buried her, it was in their attitudes. I’m sure that’s the reason my father made me take swimming lessons every single summer of my life. All I could do was promise I’d never be careless again.”
No wonder she was so upset about my bucket list.
“My roommate Nicole hates my parents,” Katie said. “She claims they shouldn’t have put it all on me.”
“I agree with Nicole.” He seethed inside.
“But I understand them. They were just hurting. They didn’t mean to make me feel guilty.” She took a shuddery breath. “They wanted to protect me because I was all they had left.”
She turned her glistening gaze on him, as if she needed his confirmation. He couldn’t help it—he gave it to her.
“I’m sure they meant well.”
“They love me. They really do.”
Why did it sound like she was trying to convince herself?
“How could they not love you?”
When he reached his hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear, she leaned her face into his palm. Her eyes closed, squeezing out more tears to track down her face. Her lips parted, chin trembling.
He could kiss her now, and she would respond with hunger. He felt it in her roiling emotions, saw it in her rapid breathing. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, inducing a groan from his throat. She wouldn’t say no to him. But would she regret it the next day?
He stood and drew her into his arms, and she clung to him in all her softness, hidden beneath a tough façade. Willing her to feel safe in his embrace, he lowered his lips to her hair, the scent of sweet strawberries filling his nose. As he placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head, he forced himself to peel her away before he lost control.
“We should get you home.” The words squeezed from his tight throat. “We’ve got an early day tomorrow.”
She pulled back, shrinking before his eyes, and he chastised himself.
Maybe I should’ve kissed her. Maybe she needs to feel loved tonight, even if she hates me tomorrow.
But her shoulders stiffened, along with her neck, and the moment was gone. With a firm swipe, the back of her hand cleared the tears from her cheeks, and she lifted her chin.
“Good idea.”
7
“Yes, you heard me right. I’m leaving in ten minutes to go kayaking.” Katie put her cell phone on speaker so she could touch up the shave on her legs.
“How on earth did Mr. Gherring talk you into that?” Nicole asked. “Not that I’m complaining. I think it’s great.”
“It was Gary who talked me into it,” said Katie, balancing on one foot, the other on the edge of the tub. “Supposedly, there aren’t any sharks in this river since it’s fresh water. Not that I intend to swim in it,
but it’s always possible to flip over in a kayak.”
“I love kayaking. I bet you will, too, once you give it a try,” said Nicole. “I need to meet this Gary-guy who can talk you into doing something adventurous, for a change. This is the spider-killer?”
“One and the same.” Katie rinsed her leg and switched to the other one.
“Is he hot, like Steven Gherring?”
“Yes, but…” To her dismay, Katie’s eyes started stinging, last night’s tears threatening to return. She hissed as she sliced her ankle with the razor, adding insult to injury.
“What’s wrong, Katie?” Nicole, always sensitive to Katie’s emotions, must’ve heard the distress in her voice.
“I think I’m broken, and Gary can tell.” As she dabbed a tissue at her eyes, she tried to stay calm. “I realized it last night, but I think it’s just now sinking in.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“I told Gary about Kindra and my parents.”
She could almost hear Nicole gulp over the phone. “That’s… that’s a good thing, Katie. I’m glad you opened up.” Her tone said she thought Katie was crazy, and Katie was inclined to agree. Why had she blurted out her depressing family history?
“The thing is, before I told him that, I was starting to think he liked me. And I was kind of liking him back.” Katie rinsed the blood off her ankle and dried her leg.
“What happened? Don’t tell me you spilled your guts and he was a jerk about it.”
“No, he was nice. He was too nice.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
With a quick check of the time, Katie padded to her room to get dressed. “I thought things were kind of charged between us. You know what I mean? Like sparks.”
“Sounds good so far.”
“But after I told him about Kindra, he hugged me… like a brother hugs a sister. It’s like he was completely turned off.” Katie took a shuddery breath. “That’s exactly how Joseph acted. One day, he just stopped kissing me.”
“Don’t do this, Katie. Don’t let Joseph spoil your chance at another relationship. Just because he wasn’t faithful doesn’t mean—”
“You don’t get it! Joseph stopped kissing me before he started dating Candace. He told me…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it.